This invention relates to the provision of a workstation incorporating the operational and anthropomorphic requirements of the human operators performing viewing and keying activities at the workstation. The work station is designed to accommodate visual display and feedback, and controller operations and keyboard tasks as an integrated set of operations for the 5th to the 95th percentile of the operator population.
The reconfigurable workstation is particularly advantageous for use in the space program for simulating and controlling maneuvers in space of remote manipulators, vehicles, etc.
Prior designs have been proposed for workstations including keyboards, and controllers and visual display units. These prior designs treat each component's operation as separate from any of the others and result in design incompatibilities when the overall system operations are evaluated. Typing keyboards are to be sloped approximately 15 degrees toward the operator and provide palm support. Hand controllers are to provide full arm support; and video display units (VDU) should be tilted 15 to 25 degrees upwards toward the operator.
The conventional workstation configurations result in a VDU which is located too high with respect to the operator's keyboard and a comfortable keyboard. The keyboard is typically tilted too much toward the operator with regard to hand controller or joystick operations. A support surface for joystick operations is provided in the conventional designs which does not adequately support the operator's arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,461 discloses a data processor workstation having a keyboard which is horizontal and sloped toward the operator. The VDU is generally horizontal or at a slight angle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,561 discloses a workstation for a computer terminal wherein the keyboard is sloped downwardly and based on a horizontal surface. The video display unit is dropped downwardly so that the line of sight is sloped upwardly toward the operator. No provision is made in either of the above such as joystick, trackballs, or other control switches which may be utilized, for example at a CAD station.
The primary disadvantages of the prior art, which consists of simply stacking VDU's, keyboards, or hand controllers on a conventional workplace, are human operator fatigue, incompatible eye/hand feedback, and excessive head and hand movements. All the above result in decreased productivity by increasing operations time and error rates.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a reconfigurable workstation in a systematic framework wherein the visual, manipulative, and spatial requirements are taken as an interactive proposition rather than individually.
Another object of the invention is to provide a reconfigurable workstation which provides for the correct performance of tasks involving hand controllers wherein the forearms are positioned in a slightly declined manner from the elbow.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a reconfigurable workstation wherein arm supports are provided for the correct sustained performance of tasks involving hand controllers when the forearms are supported in a negatively declined position and the keyboard in a positively inclined position such that the successive rows of keys face upwards toward the operator.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a reconfigurable workstation which may be adjusted and reconfigured for the operator to provide for sustained support during long simulations of space flight or other long durational tasks such as word processing or computerized design without fatigue.
Another object of the invention is to provide a reconfigurable workstation wherein the visual display units are reconfigurable to reduce tedious and numerous head movements.